Blog Introduction


.
HeLLo World !  I’m Eric Vaiksnoras, a 38-year-old Young Widower of 7 years, who’s barely hanging onto the “young” part of the “young widower” label!  (When is it that I become an “old widower” anyway?!  Wait, don’t answer that, I’m afraid to know!)  So what brings you here?  Whatever the reason, whatever the loss (job, pet, girlfriend/boyfriend, fiancé, spouse, family member, etc), I’m glad our paths crossed, and I want you to know that you’re very welcome here.  Grief is Tough, whatever form it comes in — and it seems that we are all grieving something — so if you’d like to be a part of this blog, then I’d like you to be a part of this blog!  The more the merrier!

And to keep it merry (!)…please play nice.  This website was created to be an empowering place where people take care of each other.  Grief has left many of us in a hyper-sensitive state, so being kind to one another is extra important here.  Thank You for doing your part in keeping this a safe and welcoming place.

Wanted:  Your comments.  Your comments are what will bring this website to life!  The real power of all this is not in what I have to say, but the power comes from you, the reader.  I am but one person with limited influence, but if I join hands with you, and we join hands with others, that’s where the real power is formed.  We become a collective, unstoppable, wave of healing.  Please consider sharing your reaction to what you’ve read; allow your valuable experiences to become a part of anyone who reads this.  Share your messages of hope and love.  Add to the momentum.  Share what drives you, moves you, keeps you going.  Share your pain.  Share whatever it is that connects you to what you’ve read.  I want to hear about it.  And I’m certain others do too.  Rise up and make this website the powerful thing that it can be.  Share your greatness.

Eric V

an invitation to you…

Please introduce yourself.  What brings you here?  Share anything you’d like.  What makes you smile?  What makes you laugh?  What gives you hope?  

If you’ve read any part of my book and have a comment to make (or if you’d like to read the comments of others) — Great! — your valuable experiences are needed!  Comments can be made here within this page, Or at the very end of each book chapter.  

I want this to be a place you feel comfortable returning to; a place that you’d tell a friend about.  If you have any constructive comments, I’d love to hear from you!  Do you like the website?  If so, what do you like about it?  Do you have any suggestions to make it better?  Do you have any suggestions for future blog topics?

.
.
CLICK HERE FOR ONLINE VERSION OF BOOK
CLICK HERE FOR NEW PAPERBACK VERSION OF BOOK
SEARCH BLOG ARCHIVES FOR ADDITIONAL BLOG POSTS
FEELING GRATEFUL OR LOW? SIGN THE THANK YOU CARD
 .
Connect on Twitter: @EricVaiksnoras
Connect on Facebook: @HoneyIShrunkTheGrief

.

Share

13 thoughts on “Blog Introduction”

  1. Eric,

    Thank you so much for having the courage to write this. The more and more I have learned about your story these past few months, it makes me treasure the time I have with my spouse even more. Because you never know when yours or their time might be up. I am looking forward to reading the entire book! It is always amazing to hear people’s stories because it shows you that people can bounce back no matter what they face.

    -Jessica

    Reply ↓

  2. My Dearest Eric and David,
    Wow! your dream of completing this book is amazing.
    I just briefly read the chapter “memorials”. The pictures and your comments are beautiful. They brought back many memories.
    You have always had a talent of expressing verbally what is in your heart. Now you have done it to share with the world.
    My only frustration is: I want a hard copy to sit on the couch and read with a warm blanket, a cup of tea and a box of tissues. How can you make that happen?
    I also want copies to give to friends who too are grieving. I know I can and will pass on this web site, but I also want to pass on copies.
    I will continue to make comments as I read each and every word.
    Love to you both always, Kathy

    Reply ↓

    • Kathy, Thank You for all of your support and love…a most wonderful gift to receive (that exact sentiment goes out to Everyone that has visited this site! Every visitor here, and every comment that is left, feels like the BIGGEST gift. THANK YOU ALL for making this blog/website a dream come true for me. I hope that your time here helps in some way to make Your dreams come true too). I’m so happy that you’ve been enjoying my book and am extremely flattered to hear that you would like print versions of it for yourself and others. I plan on investigating what it would cost to have a paperback version made for David and me, so we could have a special edition of it for our home. Others have been asking me about a print version too, so if I’m able to find a printing company that could make copies at a reasonable cost, maybe down the road I can offer a paperback version to you…and anyone else who has expressed interest. In the meantime, if any of my book chapters feel extra meaningful to you, you can always use your home printer to print off a copy…so you can have a more tangible version to enjoy on your comfy sounding couch :)
      Lots of love back,
      EricV

      Reply ↓

      • Kathy, I took your idea to heart! It took a few years(!), but I’m excited to announce that as of 11/23/16, my full color 7″ x 10″ book is now available in paperback through Amazon’s CreateSpace. If you would like a copy for yourself or a loved one, orders can be placed directly through CreateSpace at https://www.createspace.com/5290588
        Thank you so much for your interest and encouragement!

        Reply ↓

  3. Eric and David,
    Our family is so impressed that you go visit people at Hospice. It takes kind and strong people to do that and we all think you’re great.

    Great job on the book

    Reply ↓

  4. Hey, Eric!
    Thanks for remembering me and sending your story! I always enjoyed talking with you at our Jewelry Shows! I wish you and David all the best!!! I hope we can keep in touch! Beth

    Reply ↓

  5. Eric:

    I went to school with Julie from kindergarten all the way through high school. She was such a kind and sweet human being. I honestly can’t ever remember Julie saying an ill word about anyone and I remember her always having a smile on her face. When I Iearned of her passing, I struggled to make sense of how such a wonderful person could be taken from her family so soon. I couldn’t even fathom what you and her family were going through.

    I learned of your book and read it last week while I was sitting in the hospital with my own husband as he recovered from his second surgery in four months. I was feeling overwhelmed and wondering when we would finally “get a break”. I guess this came to me at a time when I needed it most, because as I read your reflections, I was reminded that despite everything we have been through, I have so much to be grateful for.

    I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for sharing your journey and giving a voice to the grieving process. It is such a beautiful legacy of Julie’s life and will serve to help so many others who are struggling with grief, or who can simply benefit from knowing that someone else has walked this journey too.

    All the best to you and David,
    Melinda Czarnecki-Mernovage

    Reply ↓

  6. Eric,

    While I haven’t finished reading your whole story (I’m halfway thru, reading it at work!), I felt compelled to comment already. You and I share a forum at a young widow’s site and I just happen to find your website through your profile there and I’m so very glad I did. I also lost my young husband and had small children to care for (4 years old and 8 days old at the time of his death) and I’ve struggled with much of the same questions and sorrows you did. I’m also glad to be able to say that where I am in my life, I can now see the connections between life and death and the continuation of things and love, rather then looking at his death as the end. Everything you’ve written hit very close to home for me, as I’m sure it will for many other readers. I think it’s awesome that you’ve chosen to share your thoughts with people,and I just wanted to say that. I can’t wait to finish reading but I had to stop and say good job, sir. Well done. Julie must be so proud of you!

    Reply ↓

  8. Eric,
    Bless your heart for sharing your spirit and your struggle. I heard your “story” online, on the radio show of the author of “God Never Blinks”. I was listening this morning, online, just before leaving to attend the memorial of my best guy friend’s wife. We are much older than you and Julie, but my friends (Dennis and Lil) had an enviable marriage, and were together since high school. When we heard everyone’s “shares” about Lil, she and Julie seem like kindred spirits. I haven’t finished your book. But I hope you (and my dear friend, Dennis) both find peace and comfort, and purpose.

    Love to you,
    Jeanie

    Reply ↓

  9. I was a young widow also! in my 40.s Now I am 66 I still have times I am all alone. My son Rob is grown and is living his life.
    I try not to ask much but most people have some body.
    I have No one to talk too most of the time I think that is the hardest..

    Reply ↓

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *